Commercial and Fleet Vehicle Respray in Doncaster
A work van earns its keep on the road, not on a ramp. We repair and respray commercial vehicles including LWB and SWB vans, Luton bodies and lorry panels, and we plan the work around the fact that every day the vehicle sits here is a day it is not working.
Vans Do Not Wear Out the Way Cars Do
A commercial vehicle collects a very particular set of damage. Side panels get scuffed by gateposts and loading bays rather than car parks. Rear corners and door edges take repeated knocks in the same spot. Sill and lower panel edges see more salt because the vehicle is out in weather a car would be kept in for. And the paint is often thinner and softer than a passenger car of the same age, because fleet specification finishes are built to a price.
That changes the repair. On a van we are usually dealing with an accumulation of damage rather than one incident, and with panels that have already been touched in once or twice before. Working out what is sound and what has to come back to metal is most of the job, and it happens before we quote, not after.
The other difference is colour. A single car only has to match itself. A fleet has to match across five, ten or twenty vehicles that were built in different years, so we mix on site and card the colour against the specific vehicle in front of us.
Commercial Vehicles We Work On
We repair commercial vehicles alongside cars and motorcycles at the same workshop in Balby Carr Bank, using the same paint scheme and the same standard of preparation.
- Short and long wheelbase panel vans, including crew vans and high roof variants within our booth height
- Luton bodies and box bodies, including the composite panel sections
- Lorry panels, doors and cab sections
- Pickups and 4x4s used as working vehicles
- Fleet vehicles being brought back to a single house colour
- Vehicles being prepared for return at the end of a lease or contract
- Vehicles coming out of livery, where adhesive residue and shadowing have to be dealt with before paint
Preparation by Panel Type on a Commercial Vehicle
A van is not one material. A single vehicle can put galvanised steel, aluminium, GRP and moulded plastic in front of you on the same side, and each one wants a different preparation and a different primer before the colour goes anywhere near it.
Film builds, flash times and cure schedules follow the data sheet for the system in use on the day. What is set out below is the sequence, not a substitute for the manufacturer's figures.
| Substrate | Preparation | Coating build | Handling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galvanised steel body panels | Abraded carefully so the zinc layer is keyed rather than cut through. Cutting into the galvanising is what turns a cosmetic repair into a rust problem two winters later. | Primer suited to galvanised substrate, then primer filler where the panel needs levelling, then colour and clear. | Edges and returns primed as well as the visible face. Water sits on the edges, so that is where failure starts. |
| Aluminium panels and doors | Keyed with aluminium specific media, kept isolated from steel dust, and degreased immediately before priming. | Dedicated aluminium primer, then the standard colour and clear build. | Handled with clean gloves throughout. Prepared aluminium marks easily and the marks come through the colour. |
| GRP and composite Luton body panels | Cleaned of release agent and wax, keyed, and any star cracking opened out and filled rather than painted over. | A sealer or high build primer that will not sink into the laminate, flatted, then colour and clear. | Given longer to cure than a steel panel. Composite panels hold solvent and will keep gassing off after they feel dry. |
| Moulded plastic bumpers, arches and trims | Silicone and release agent removed, keyed, and treated with plastic primer or adhesion promoter. | Colour is normally mixed with a flex additive so the film flexes with the part instead of cracking at the fixing points. | Refitted only once the film has cured through, not when it is touch dry. |
| Panels coming out of vinyl livery | Residual adhesive removed completely and the panel washed and degreased. The paint underneath is usually less faded than the paint around it, so that difference has to be assessed before matching. | Existing sound paint flatted and sealed where possible, or taken back where the film has failed under the vinyl. | The shadow line from old livery is checked in daylight before sign off. It can be invisible in the booth and obvious outside. |
| Corroded lower panels and sills | Corrosion cut back to clean, sound metal. Painting over rust hides it for one season and no longer. | Etch or epoxy primer onto the treated metal, then filler, primer filler and the colour build. | Our paintwork warranty does not extend to rust unless the panel has been replaced or welded, so we will tell you which of the two the vehicle needs. |
Getting a Working Vehicle Back to Work
Commercial work is planned around your downtime, not ours. The steps below exist to make the time the vehicle spends here as short and as predictable as we can make it.
Assessment before booking
Bring the vehicle in and we will walk it with you, panel by panel, and say plainly what is cosmetic, what needs to come back to metal and what is not worth doing. Height is checked at this stage against our booth.
A written scope you can plan around
You get told which panels are in scope and roughly how long the vehicle will be off the road, so you can arrange cover before it comes in rather than after.
Strip and mask
Fittings, racking mounts, badges and trims come off rather than getting masked around wherever the panel allows. Painting up to a masked edge leaves a line you can feel with a fingernail.
Repair and metal work
Dents pulled, corrosion cut out, and panels replaced or welded where replacement is the honest answer. We use Power-TEC pulling equipment for realignment where the original panel can be saved.
Substrate specific priming
Each material gets its own primer as set out above, then everything is flatted to one level so the colour lays on a single consistent surface.
Colour mixed and carded on site
We mix our own paint using our Lechler scheme and test it against the vehicle before spraying, which is what keeps a fleet reading as one colour rather than a set of near misses.
Spray, cure and refit
Colour and clear go on in the booth, the vehicle is cured, and fittings go back only once the film is hard enough not to take a print.
Handover and aftercare
We go over the vehicle with you outside in daylight. We ask you to leave at least two weeks before washing it so the clear coat can harden fully.
Forty Years of Body and Paintwork in Doncaster
C&S Pro Spray has been repairing and refinishing vehicles in Doncaster for over 40 years, for private customers, businesses and dealerships. Commercial work goes through the same booth, the same paint scheme and the same quality check as everything else.
What Fits, and What Does Not
The most useful thing we can tell a business is where the line is, before the vehicle is driven over here.
Work we take on
- LWB and SWB vans, Luton vehicles, lorry panels and more
- Fleet repairs and colour standardisation across multiple vehicles
- Accident damage, including insurance approved repairs
- Cracked and damaged plastic bumpers and trims repaired by nitrogen plastic welding rather than replaced
- Panel replacement and realignment where the original panel cannot be saved
Where we will say no, or say elsewhere
- Height. The only limitation on commercial work is height, because of our paint booth size, so tall box and high roof vehicles need checking before booking
- Wheels. We recommend wheels go elsewhere for powder coating, as we do not offer sandblasting or acid dipping
- Rust warranty. We cannot give warranty against rust unless the panel is replaced or welded
- A firm price over the phone. We cannot give a standard price because it depends on factors like existing damage, so the vehicle needs looking at
- Painting over failed paint. If the existing film is lifting, sealing over it only buys a season
Commercial and Fleet Questions
Do you repair commercial vehicles?
Yes. We repair commercial vehicles including LWB and SWB vans, Luton vehicles, lorry panels and more. The only limitation is height, due to our paint booth size.
How do I know my van will fit in your booth?
Tell us the model and roof height, or bring it down. Height is the one constraint on commercial work here, so we check it before anything is booked in rather than discovering it on the day.
Can you keep several fleet vehicles the same colour?
Yes, and that is exactly why we mix our own paint on site. Vehicles built in different years drift apart in colour, so each one is carded against its own panels and the mix adjusted until the fleet reads as one colour.
How long will my van be off the road?
It depends on how many panels are in scope and whether anything needs replacing or welding. We give you a realistic window at the assessment stage so you can arrange cover before the vehicle comes in.
The van is coming out of a wrap. Is that a problem?
Not usually, but it changes the preparation. All the adhesive residue has to come off first, and the paint that was under the vinyl is often less faded than the paint around it, so we assess that difference in daylight before matching.
Can you deal with rust on the sills and lower panels?
Yes, by cutting back to sound metal rather than painting over it. Be aware that our warranty does not extend to rust unless the panel is replaced or welded, and we will tell you which of the two your vehicle needs.
Do you handle insurance work on commercial vehicles?
Yes. We are insurance approved vehicle repair specialists and we work directly with insurance providers, so the claim and the repair can be handled together.
Can a cracked van bumper be repaired rather than replaced?
Very often, using nitrogen plastic welding. We have used the technology for 5 years with zero failures in any of our repairs, and we give a lifetime warranty on plastic welding we carry out.
Is there a warranty on a commercial respray?
We give a 6 year warranty on all paintwork, and a lifetime warranty on any plastic welding we perform. The exception is rust, which we cannot warrant unless the panel is replaced or welded.
When can the van go back into service after painting?
It goes back to you ready to work, but we ask that you leave at least two weeks before washing it so the clear coat can harden and washing does not scratch the fresh finish.
Do you cover businesses outside Doncaster?
Yes. Our workshop is on Balby Carr Bank in Doncaster and we regularly look after customers from Mexborough, Rotherham, Barnsley, Worksop and across South Yorkshire.
How much does a van respray cost?
We cannot give a standard price because it depends on factors like existing damage, the number of panels and the material each one is made from. The best option is to bring the vehicle to our workshop for an accurate in person quote.
Other Work in the Same Booth
Book the Vehicle In Around Your Week
Call the workshop and tell us the vehicle, the roof height and roughly what has happened to it. We will tell you whether it fits, what the repair involves and when we can take it, so you can plan the downtime instead of guessing at it.
Free, no obligation quotes. Cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles all go through the same workshop in Doncaster.